Cumulative Exam

Which statement shows appropriate maturity, sensitivity, and respect for an interview?

"I left my last job because there were few opportunities to advance."

Which of the following excerpts from Sandra Cisneros's story "Mericans" best reveals a blending of cultures?

"'Hey, Michele, Keeks. You guys want gum?' 'But you speak English!' 'Yeah,' my brother says, 'we're Mericans.'"

What is universal theme?

a central message that applies to anyone, anywhere

Read the excerpt from "Harrison Bergeron." The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General. Vonnegut uses satire in this excerpt by

describing a society that has taken the idea of equality too far.

Read the excerpt from Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. The silhouette of a moving cat wavered across the moonlight, and turning my head to watch it, I saw that I was not alone—fifty feet away a figure had emerged from the shadow of my neighbor's mansion and was standing with his hands in his pockets regarding the silver pepper of the stars. Something in his leisurely movements and the secure position of his feet upon the lawn suggested that it was Mr. Gatsby himself, come out to determine what share was his of our local heavens. The appearance of Gatsby from the shadows suggests that

he is a man of mystery and secrets.

Which excerpt from The Great Gatsby best indicates that Nick is not fully content with his life?

Instead of being the warm center of the world, the Middle West now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe—so I decided to go East and learn the bond business.

Which topic would prompt an argumentative essay?

A Case for Gender Equity in the Workplace

Read the excerpt from "Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry." For me, reading has always been a path toward liberation and fulfillment. To learn to read is to start down the road of liberation, a road which should be accessible to everyone. No one has the right to keep you from reading, and yet that is what is happening in many areas in this country today. There are those who think they know best what we should read. These censors are at work in all areas of our daily lives. Which best describes how Anaya uses rhetorical appeal to convince readers that censors want to limit what people can read?

Anaya speaks about everyone's right to read what they choose in order to appeal to the reader's sense of fairness.

Which excerpt from "Harrison Bergeron" best illustrates irony?

And she had to apologize at once for her voice, which was a very unfair voice for a woman to use. Her voice was a warm, luminous, timeless melody.

Which statement best summarizes a central idea in The Namesake?

Children adapt more easily to cultural differences than adults do.

What are some verbal and nonverbal ways you can show confidence and competence during your interview?

First, you must feel well prepared so that you actually do have confidence in yourself. You should practice sample interview questions and answers along with a confident handshake correctly given. Other nonverbal ways to display confidence include having good posture, maintaining appropriate eye contact, and smiling. Practicing ahead of time will help you appear competent, but you should listen carefully and make sure you are answering the question asked. Be brief but complete in your answers. Ask for clarification if you don't understand a question and be sure to always tell the truth; try not to be negative about past employers and experiences. Talk with respect and be polite. Show confidence and give a formal handshake.

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. Up and down Academy Boulevard, along South Nevada, Circle Drive, and Woodman Road, teenagers like Elisa run the fast food restaurants of Colorado Springs. Fast food kitchens often seem like a scene from Bugsy Malone, a film in which all the actors are children pretending to be adults. No other industry in the United States has a workforce so dominated by adolescents. How does Schlosser effectively build his argument in this excerpt?

He uses analogical evidence to help the reader visualize his point about the workers.

Use the following definitions to answer the question. conscience: 1. (noun) the sense of right and wrong 2. (noun) inner thoughts conscious: 1. (adjective) aware 2. (noun) area of the mind aware of surroundings Which sentence contains correct word usage?

I was not conscious after my head hit the ground.

Read the sentence. The speaker of Okita's poem tries to present herself in ways that have little to do with her customs. Which is the best revision of this sentence using academic vocabulary?

The speaker of Okita's poem attempts to characterize herself in ways that have little to do with her heritage.

Read this excerpt from "Choreographers of Matter, Life, and Intelligence." But the few wondrous shells and pebbles picked up by Newton and other scientists on the seashore helped to trigger a marvelous chain of events. A profound transformation occurred in human society. With Newton's mechanics came powerful machines, and eventually the steam engine, the motive force which reshaped the world by overturning agrarian society, spawning factories and stimulating commerce, unleashing the industrial revolution, and opening up entire continents with the railroad. Select the most accurate summary of Kaku's argument.

Newton's discoveries led to the invention of machines and the beginning of an industrialized society.

Read the excerpt from "In Response to Executive Order 9066." I've packed my galoshes and three packets of tomato seeds. Denise calls them love apples. My father says where we're going they won't grow. Read the excerpt from "Mericans." She's so busy taking Junior's picture, she doesn't notice me and Keeks. "Hey, Michele, Keeks. You guys want gum?" "But you speak English!" "Yeah," my brother says, "we're Mericans." Which of the statements best describes both excerpts?

Okita uses the tomato, a food native to the Americas, to highlight the speaker's American identity, while Cisneros uses the English language to give her characters an American identity.

Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son. He had lived and died in an intolerable bitterness of spirit and it frightened me, as we drove him to the graveyard through those unquiet, ruined streets, to see how powerful and overflowing this bitterness could be and to realize that this bitterness now was mine. Based on Baldwin's reflection about his father's life, which best states the effects of racial prejudice?

The effects of racial prejudice are passed down from generation to generation.

Read the excerpt from Dispatches. You came to love your life, to love and respect the mere fact of it, but often you became heedless of it in the way that somnambulists are heedless. Being good meant staying alive, and sometimes that was only a matter of caring enough at any given moment. Based on the excerpt, which best describes a good soldier?

a soldier who is always vigilant

Having a counterclaim in an argumentative essay allows the author of the essay to

address any opposition to his or her claim.

Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son. In that year I had had time to become aware of the meaning of all my father's bitter warnings, had discovered the secret of his proudly pursed lips and rigid carriage: I had discovered the weight of white people in the world. I saw that this had been for my ancestors and now would be for me an awful thing to live with and that the bitterness which had helped to kill my father could also kill me. Baldwin's use of the word "weight" helps readers visualize the effects of racial prejudice as a burden that

creates tension and strain in the body.

Read the excerpt from Notes of a Native Son. That bleakly memorable morning I hated the unbelievable streets and the Negroes and whites who had, equally, made them that way. But I knew that it was folly, as my father would have said, this bitterness was folly. Which best states the key problem that Baldwin presents?

his feeling of hatred

Read the passage. Langston Hughes was extremely versatile. He wrote poetry, published essays, and even authored a commissioned history of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). In this context, what is the meaning of "versatile"?

multi-talented

Read the following excerpt from Leslie Marmon Silko's story "The Man to Send Rain Clouds." The sun was approaching the long mesa where it disappeared during the winter. What type of figurative language is included in this passage?

personification

Read the paragraph. Competitive sports are valuable activities for young people today. They emphasize the importance of being part of a team and working toward a common goal. Competitive sports give today's youth an advantage as athletes tend to be more confident in themselves and their abilities. Participation in competitive sports is strongly recommended for our students. Which strategy does the author use in her choice of language to convey her message?

persuasive influence

Read the following excerpt from Levitt and Dubner's Freakonomics. When he started his business, he expected a 95 percent payment rate, based on the experience at his own office. But just as crime tends to be low on a street where a police car is parked, the 95 percent rate was artificially high: Feldman's presence had deterred theft. Not only that, but those bagel eaters knew the provider and had feelings (presumably good ones) about him. A broad swath of psychological and economic research has shown that people will pay different amounts for the same item depending on who is providing it. . . . In the real world, Feldman learned to settle for less than 95 percent. He came to consider a company "honest" if its payment rate was above 90 percent. He considered a rate between 80 and 90 percent "annoying but tolerable." The excerpt helps the authors arrive at their conclusion by

providing statistical evidence.